Carnival of Modern Man: Video Games

As part of our Carnival of Modern Man project, our friend Scott Burns has written up an interesting piece taking a critical look at the rise of video games in American culture and the potential implications of a generation of men plugged in and tuned out." />

As part of our Carnival of Modern Man project, our friend Scott Burns has written up an interesting piece taking a critical look at the rise of video games in American culture and the potential implications of a generation of men plugged in and tuned out.

As part of our Carnival of Modern Man project, our friend Scott Burns has written up an interesting piece taking a critical look at the rise of video games in American culture and the potential implications of a generation of men plugged in and tuned out.

If video games were limited to teenagers and a few hold-overs from the Dungeon & Dragons days, we wouldn’t be discussing this. The fact is, gaming is now a multi-billion dollar business attracting consumers…mainly men…from the ages of 6 to 60. In a recent article, Chuck Klosterman of Esquire compared the gaming revolution to that of Rock n’ Roll. It’s that important…or so say the gamers.

Kids…and thus men…are getting softer because of video games. We’re launching a generation of wimps into the world. Men who’s understanding of the world resides in fantasy and their ability to use their thumbs.

Men, fellas 18-36, represent the bulk of the gamers, and giving their buying power, they are the target of many new titles. I asked three friends…all 30 years old, all married, all working-stiffs, all in different parts of the States, what they were doing tonight. One was unpacking from a recent trip to Croatia. One was heading to the tavern to drink his fill and play some darts…and the other? Madden, all weekend, all the time.